In December 2017, the focus was on Experience. Uber sought to improve driver’s experience by offering priority support and 24/7 phone and weekend UberHub support.

The focus for January 2018 was on earnings. Uber even signed off on the email sent to drivers that offers better earnings experience.

image – Uber Singapore

Uber kept true to their words and introduced the new fare structure which comes into effect on 1 January 2018.

image – Uber Singapore

Fare Cut! UberPool gets even cheaper

Good thing does not seem to last in the private-hire industry. Shortly after the fare revision, Uber also announced the published fares of the new UberFLASH service.

Uber also confirmed that the fare will be 5% to 10% lower than that of UberX during the official launch of the service. UberPool fare will also be at a discount of the new UberFLASH rates.

Unfair?

Uber did not lie, they did increase the UberX fare. The introduction of UberFLASH merely made the UberX service a thing of the past.

It was the exact move that Grab adopted when they introduced JustGrab, promised lower fares than GrabCar and GrabCar became a thing of the past.

Unless Uber riders hate taxi-drivers so much and do not want to take their chances with UberFLASH, you can expect most riders to flock to the cheaper and faster UberFLASH service.

Taxi Drivers only pay 10% commission to Uber

The Straits Times reported that Comfort Delgro Taxi Drivers who are assigned jobs through the UberFLASH platform are eligible to receive dynamic pricing jobs where prices increase during periods of high demands, a privilege that was once exclusive to private-hire drivers.

Uber also takes a 10% fare commission of the fare on every UberFLASH trip from taxi drivers, half of the 20% that private-hire drivers are charged for every trip.

Surge in number of drivers will hurt Fare

The dynamic pricing works based on the theory of demand and supply. When demand is high and supply is low, prices increase, vice versa.

Comfort Delgro is the largest taxi company in Singapore. The potential inclusion of 15,000 CDG taxis into the UberFLASH system will have a deep impact on fares. Private-hire drivers drive during periods of high demands for high fares to make-up for the low fares during periods of low demands.

With a huge increase in the supply of drivers, riders’ demands are more easily met and in turn, means potentially lesser surge pricing.

While Comfort Delgro Taxi Drivers can expect a surge in their earnings, private-hire Drivers earnings are expected to take a hit when their share of the pie is further split into many more portions.

Commander-in-Chief @ FirstlaneSwam to Sunny island to escape from the half-brother who ruled with an iron-fist and feed the family with needles or to dogs.Kim is my family name and Jio is my favorite fruit.Screwing around with Uber & Grab since 2014